Easy and Effective Ways to Prevent Loose Bolts

Self-loosening and loss of pre-load are two main external reasons of loose bolts. The consequences of bolt loosening can be drastic. A loose bolt can cause a great damage to your machinery and cost the company thousands of dollars.

Here, the blog post talks about some easy yet effective ways to prevent loosening of bolts. We will tell you about an array of devices that can be used to prevent loose bolts and related accidents.

• Washers: These are wider than the bolt’s head and surface area has extra friction to handle the clamp force. You can find several types of washers that van provide more support and resistance. The combination can completely prevent loosening; however, this may cause damage to the surface of joint finish. The instances of this occurrence can be seen in critical aerospace applications where a stress may be caused by the tightening.
• Prevailing Torque Nuts: Use torque locknuts to add more friction and prevent self-loosening. These nuts are designed to move in reverse direction so it cannot be unwind by vibration or any other kind of force. These locknuts resist loosening due to their thread like structure which form strong connection with the mating surface. Different types of prevailing torque locknuts, such as flange locknuts, collar locknuts, hex style nuts, are used for different applications that are more useful than bolts.
• Double Nuts: As the name suggests, it is the combination of two nuts – a thick one and a thinner one. This method is being used by industries to prevent loosening of bolted joints. You would wonder knowing that the method existed 150 years ago to provide resistance of the joint. Two nuts, in which each has different sized threads and advance at different rate, are combined on a dual threaded bolt. Arrangement of nuts in transverse motion makes it easy to sustain tightness.
• Mechanical Devices: Some gimmicks are used to lock a tightened nut at the place of bolted joints. It is an ideal fastener for non-permanent joint which means re-assembly is possible for a number of times. These devices help the bolted joints to maintain resistance for a specified clamp force. This is how mechanical devices contribute for a tight bolt in machinery.

Dry patch, safety wire, Loctite, castle nut, and nord lock are some other methods used to provide resistance to the bolted joints. These are a few methods you can use to avoid all possible risks of loosening. Rather than focusing on regular maintenance, it’s better to use highest quality bolts for a risk-free use of any machinery or heavy equipment.

TriState Locknuts has a history of manufacturing only the best quality of locknuts used for various applications worldwide. From grade C to auto style to collar locknuts, we are responsible for delivering the finest quality. Contact the manufacturer today!